Liberia records two suspected Ebola cases

March 27, 2015 2:38 am

MONROVIA, March 26 — Two new suspected Ebola cases have been recorded in Liberia following announcement of a patient tested positive for Ebola on Friday after weeks with no new cases, an official has disclosed.

Acting head of the Ebola Incident Management System, Francis Kateh, says one case is an active contact of a 44-year-old lady from Caldwell Community who was allegedly diagnosed with the virus at a local hospital, while the other suspected case is not connected to the country's latest Ebola patient currently undergoing treatment at a government-run medical unit.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Kateh also noted that 80 contacts of the latest Ebola patient have been identified.

He described five people as "active contacts." They were taking care of the patient while the symptoms showed.

If the two cases are confirmed, they will bring to three the number of Ebola cases in the country that had gone more than 24 days without a confirmed Ebola case.

Liberia is one of the hardest hit countries by Ebola. The virus has claimed more than 4,500 lives in the country since March 2014.

Many Liberians are disappointed with the new development as the country was just another 21 days to be declared by the World Health Organization as ebola-free if no case is reported for 42 days. (PNA/Xinhua)